La Vie Boheme?
by Angsty Anime Star
Summary: The very very interesting 'La Vie Boheme' experience through everyone's favrorite shut-in ex-junkie rock star's eyes.


**Okay, So i just realized, with all the First Person during Rent stories out there, nobody did La Vie Boheme...or if they did i couldn't find it. Anyway, i was watching the movie and i realized that even though it says all of them are singing with lyrics and stuff, Roger, understandably, is fairly distant the majority of the song. So you know, here's what I figure he was thinking. I'd like to apologize for leaving out some of the talking dialogue, like Mimi and Benny's conversation, out. First of all, i was watching a cut video and didn't want to make anything up. Secondly, Roger probably wouldn't have picked up on that dialogue. **

**Disclaimer: I dont own Rent....sadly**

**ROGER'S POV**

* * *

"They make fun, yet I am the one attempting to do some good. Or do you really want a neighborhood where people piss on your stoop every night?" Benny started, and you know, I'm not really listening to him. I'm still internally laughing my ass off about Evita and externally looking kind of freaked out. It's been a long day. I was just subtly glancing around at the others, and then I realized I wasn't so cold anymore. Amazing, huh? So I slid my jacket off behind me and crossed my arms, sort of drumming my fingers impatiently.

"Bohemia, Bohemia is a fallacy in your head. This is Calcutta. Bohemia is dead" He'd went up right behind us and put a hand on Mark's shoulder. You know, I didn't really get what he was saying. A metaphorical…something, I'm sure. I rubbed my nose, stupid cold weather. Anyways…Oh, he's still preaching. Seriously, would he shut up now? Finally he does, and he goes to leave.

Then Mark just gets up and walks after him in a mimicking professional way. Some people around me are laughing. It's funny. Then he goes to the head of the tables and looks at us all seriously. "Dearly beloved, we gather here to say our goodbyes." He started.

And I saw Collins across from me getting up and I knowingly did the same. We both held out hands out and chanted, "Dies Irae. Dies Illa. Kyrie Eleison. Yitgadal V' Yitkadash." You know, I have no idea what we're saying. But I know the words. Maybe a prayer or something that Mark or Collins or Benny used to say? I don't know. But it works.

"Here she lies." Mark continued after a second, dropping into waiting arms with his hands crossed over his chest. They all passed him till he was at us in the middle of the table. "No one knew her worth. The late great daughter of Mother Earth." I moved my hand away kind of nervously. I just realized Angel and me were holding his ass. Which was kind of….weird.

Mark was making all these overdramatic expressions that seemed so Maureen-like. I didn't know he had it in him. "On these nights when we celebrate the birth." Then we all started rocking him back and fourth as he continued with more of his speech. "In that little town of Bethlehem…" He got up from our grasp and stood on the table.

'We raise our glass." And Maureen stood on the table too….was this pre-rehearsed or something? "You bet your ass to" And Maureen pulled down her pants and undergarments, and Joanne slapped her ass. That was not something I needed to see.

Then she pulled them up and her and Mark clanked glasses. "La Vie Boheme." What's that even mean? Anyways, Mo makes her dramatic exit and suddenly everyone's standing and moving and dancing.

And I'm just standing there with my arms crossed looking at all my insane companions. "La Vie Boheme." Everyone choruses, suddenly all shuffling down. Aw, what the hell. I do so too. We all bring out hands out and them up. "La Vie Boheme." Really, I wondered where this was all coming from….But its kind of fun. "Le Vie Boheme."

And now Mark's standing on the table and walking catwalk style all overdramatic again and…maybe Mo helped him with this? "To days of inspiration,  
Playing hookey, making something out of nothing, the need To express- To communicate. To going against the grain, Going insane, Going mad." He started, and the rest of us are still going on about "La Vie Boheme."

There's people dancing and singing and now it's a bit less organized. The girls across from me are grinning madly and I'm smiling a bit and drumming on the table. And finally it got to me and I just flashed a grin, quickly hiding it again.

"To loving tension, no pension. To more than one dimension. To starving for attention, Hating convention, hating pretension. Not to mention of course, Hating dear old mom and dad." Mark went on, and now everyone up again and Angel and Mimi are in party mode and everyone's moving around.

I suddenly grabbed Mark's camera and walked in front of him. I needed all this on tape. Now Mark's being wheelbarrow-ed around and Collins is spinning. Okay, maybe I'm enjoying myself just a little bit.

"To riding your bike midday past the three piece suits. To fruits. To no absolutes. To Absolute. To choice. To the Village Voice. To any passing fad" Mark was getting really really into it, and Benny and his….executives? were getting pretty nervous.

Then Maureen goes and hugs Mark's legs. I wonder how Joanne's gonna feel about this. "To being an 'us' for once…Instead of a 'them'." Then he jumps off the table and almost everyone yells, "La Vie Boheme."

Mark turned and walks towards me and I'm backing up so I can still film him. Finally, since I almost walked into someone, I shut it off and went back to my seat with Mark.

I stole a quick glance at the others. Maureen and Joanne were getting a little…well I guess Jo isn't mad at her. One of the old guys clears his throat like they did something wrong. "Hey Mister." Maureen smirks, "She's my sister."

Then the waiter, cause apparently he's actually going to take our order. Wow he must be crazy, comes up to us. "So that's five miso soup, four seaweed salad, three soy burger dinner, two tofu dog platter, and one pasta with meatless balls?"

"Ew." Some guy said, and so did I, scrunching my face in disgust a little.

Collins just sort of shrugged. "It tastes the same." It does not.

Mimi giggled. "If you close your eyes." No, it still tastes just as bad.

"And thirteen orders of fries. Is that it here?" The waiter asked, now looking a bit anxious to get away.

Then, I'm pretty sure we all thought the same thing. If we were all drunk, this wouldn't seem so weird. "Wine and beer!"

And now Mimi and Angel were on the table. Mimi was using her grace and Angel her charm, and they looked, well, they were having fun. Mimi really could dance. And so could Angel. "To hand-crafted beers made in local breweries. To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese. To leather, to dildos, To curry Vindaloo. To Huevos Rancheros and Maya Angelou"

Then I heard more voices and saw Collins and Maureen dancing on the ground. You know, I'm starting to think they all got drunk earlier without me. "Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion. Creation, Vacation…."

"Mucho masturbation." Mark stood up and said, looking accusingly at Benny. Again I almost laughed at Benny's completely freaked out, even more so than myself, expression.

Collins and Maureen continued. "Compassion, to fashion, to passion when it's new."

"To Sontag" Collins called out.

Angel spun on the table. "To Sondheim"

And then four people I may or may not know, cause well, I just left the house today….wait, maybe I'm dreaming. Maybe I'm still on the windowsill of the Loft with my guitar. Yeah, yeah. That's it. "To anything taboo!"

But then Collins grabbed my hand and made me go up on the table with him and he put an arm around my shoulder as if he knew I would leave otherwise. "Ginsberg, Dylan, Cunningham and Cage." We sang.

The Collins pointed to me all announcer-like. "Lenny Bruce" I grinned but shrugged it off modestly.

I did the same to him. "Langston Hughes" I realized everyone was looking at us, probably not expecting this.

Maureen laid back on the table. "To the stage!"

Collins and I did a mock bow as random people yelled, "To Uta", "To Buddha", and "Pablo Neruda, too". And Collins and I held hands like we were tangoing and we walked down the long table and jumped off and spun. Okay, this air is toxic…it must be.

"Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow to blow off Auntie Em?!" Mark and Mimi yelled, quite randomly if I may add.

"La Vie Boheme" they all yelled and started dancing again. I looked at Mimi, sort of diverting my gaze to the floor. Nobody really noticed I wasn't moving.

Maureen and Joanne took over the attention anyways by leaning over the table and kissing passionately. "Sisters?" the man from before asked.

"We're close." Maureen reasoned slyly.

Collins and Angle were kissing too. They, along with Mark and Maureen grinned. "Brothers!"

Then they, and Mimi, and some others started with, "Bisexuals, trisexuals, Homo Sapiens, Carcinogens, hallucinogens, men, Pee Wee Herman. German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein Antonioni, Bertolucci, Kurosawa. Carmina Burana!"

Collins slid under Angel and Angel was rocking out and so was Mark. I was still standing there. I'd had my happy hour…er…happy minute. Then everyone added, seriously, I'm wonding how they all know what to say, "To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstasy. Vaclav Havel- The Sex Pistols, 8BC. To no shame- Never playing the fame game"

Collins, smoking his pot and leaning on Angel grinned. "To marijuana!"

Everyone continued. "To sodomy. It's between God and me. To S & M" I really want to know what all this has to do with anything. Um, Bohemia equals randomness?

"Waiter. Waiter. Waiter." Benny called as him and his group started practically running out.

"La Vie Boheme!"

Collins then went up to where they had been sitting and started in the mock official voice. "In honor of the death of Bohemia an impromptu salon will commence immediately following dinner... Maureen Johnson, back from her spectacular one-night engagement at the eleventh street lot, will sing Native American tribal chants backwards through her vocoder, while accompanying herself on the electric cello- Which she ain't never studied."

And suddenly I decided to come back out. Happy minute could last a bit longer. I pushed through the crowd and on to the table, much to basically everyone who knew me's surprise. "And Mark Cohen will preview his new documentary about his inability to hold an erection on high holy days." I playfully teased Mark and he backed up, but was smiling.

. "And Mimi Marquez, clad only in bubble wrap, will perform her famous lawn chair-handcuff dance to the sounds of iced tea being stirred." Mimi was dancing on the table while Mark sad this, so I'm guessing she had no problems with it.

"And Roger," Mark continued, and I knowingly put on my guitar and made some room, "will attempt to write a bittersweet, evocative song" I played one and Mark made that 'so-so' motion with his hand. "That doesn't remind us of Musetta's Waltz." ….Damn.

Collins took back the spotlight. Thank you Collins. "Angel Dumott Schunard will model the latest fall fashions from Paris while accompanying herself on the 10-gallon plastic pickle tub." Angel danced around in a modeling fashion.

"And Collins will recount his exploits as an Anarchist- Including the tale of his successful reprogramming of the MIT virtual reality equipment to self-destruct as it broadcasts the words:" Angel let all of us finish as Collins wrote our words on the chalkboard.

"'Actual Reality - Act Up - Fight AIDS!'"

Well they all seemed busy, and I was totally mellowed down, and had my guitar, so I was kind of working on a quiet song in the corner. But, no. That cold never work. Cause Mimi comes bounding over, quite angry. "Excuse me, did I do something wrong? I get invited and ignored all night long!"

I sigh painfully and put my guitar down. "I've been trying, I'm not lying." Did she not see me dancing on a table and talking to a large group of people? I mean, come on, this is hard enough as is! "No one's perfect. I've got baggage." I admitted.

"Life's too short, Babe, time is flying. I'm looking for baggage that goes with mine." Only Mimi. Only Mimi can say that and make it make so much sense.

"I should tell you-" I started, but was cut off. See, I can't even talk when she wants me too!

"I've got baggage too." She whispered.

"I should tell you-" I started again, only to be interrupted, again. This time it was by all the others yelling.

A beeper went off. My AZT beeper. Well this is inconvenient. I looked at Mimi, wondering what she'd think. But she just gave me a small smile, holding a little white pill. "AZT break."

"You?" I asked softly. She, Mimi has AIDS?

She smiled a bit bigger, but it was still sad. She nodded. "Me. You?"

Well I thought we already established that, seeing as I was holding my beeper now. I just looked into her eyes. "Mimi…" I took her hands and pulled her out, catching Mark smiling at us.

We were outside for a bit, and then we went back in. It was snowing. I really don't like snow. She brushed some off my hair and I smiled a bit and then…kissed her. And then I noticed the others were all looking at us and clapping.

Was I really that much of a….I mean…..oh shit….. I-I was, huh. I still am. I wasn't really thinking but I was still holding Mimi's hand and we moved over to the table. She jumped on as everyone yelled "TO DANCE!"

"No way to make a living, masochism, pain, perfection. Muscle spasms, chiropractors, short-careers, eating disorders" she danced around illustratively and jumped down. While she was moving I hoped over the table and back to my seat.

"FILM" Mark jumped up from where Mimi left. "Adventure, Tedium. No family, boring locations, Dark rooms, perfect faces, egos, money, Hollywood and sleaze!" he jumped down next to me.

"MUSIC!" Angel jumped up on the table next. Mark glanced at me, almost giving me the will to join her, but I didn't. "Food of love, emotion, mathematics, isolation,  
Rhythm, power, feeling, harmony, and heavy competition" She pretty much summed it up anyways.

"ANARCHY!" Collins and Maureen, I wasn't sure when Maureen became and anarchist but whatever, came up. "Revolution, justice, screaming for solutions, Forcing changes, risk, and danger, Making noise and making pleas"

"To faggots, lezzies, dykes, cross dressers too" Everyone sang.

"To me!" Maureen yelled, standing on a chair. I don't know why but, "To Me!" Mark did the same. Okay, now it makes sense….kinda.

"To me!" Collins and Angel yelled together.

"To you, and you and you, you and you. To people living with, living with, living with  
not dying from disease! Let he among us without sin be the first to condemn La vie Boheme, la vie Boheme, La vie Boheme, la vie Boheme!" Everyone, including me, sang. I even put a leg on the table and went all rocker pose.

We, all of the well…our…main group? Stood on the table and Mimi started dancing and I was jumping behind her. Collins and Mark were dancing together. Hm, lots of excess energy today, I've noticed.

"Anyone out of the mainstream?" Mark asked, moving from Collins. "Is anyone in the mainstream?" Angel lifted him. "Anyone alive - with a sex drive" He looked at Mimi and held her. Then he motioned to me. "Tear down the wall. Aren't we all"

He went over to Maureen and Joanne. "The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation." We all cheered. I was thinking, Mark is really good with subtle on the spot comparisons.

'La Vie Boheme." I kissed Mimi. Collins and Angle held close and slow danced. Mark was totally content wildly dancing by himself. Mo and Jo were all close to. And yes, I managed to notice all this while my attention was supposed to be on Mimi…..

"Viva!" We all yelled. "La Vie!" I didn't even care that I still didn't understand what we were saying. "Boheme!" And we struck a pose. Everyone around the restaurant started cheering for us. Everyone went back with their designated partners except that I embraced, in a best friend way and nothing more, with Mark.

Okay, so maybe, just maybe, I didn't really mind getting out of the Loft. I mean, I got to attend a Life Support meeting which was actually kinda helpful, watch Mark be scared by a feisty homeless woman, listen to Collins preach crazy ideas on a subway ride, attend an insane protest, nearly get arrested in a riot, dance on tables, kiss Mimi, and prove that Bohemia in fact, Is. Not. Dead!

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**And here we are. xD I want to point out that everything I said in there actually happened. Roger was holding up Mark's ass. Mark did glance at him when Angel went up for 'Music', etc. The only things I made up were the thoughts. And I hope I did alright with characterization. Thanks so much for reading and please leave a review. **


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